Sexual abuse lawsuits against Michael Jackson could be revived by California appeals court
Both victims sued MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc. after Jackson passed away in 2009
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two previously dismissed lawsuits against Michael Jackson may be revived Wednesday as a California appeals court could order the cases back to a lower court for trial. The cases involve two men who allege the famed pop star sexually abused them for years as children.
The suits were filed by Wade Robson and James Safechuck in 2013 and in 2014, respectively. Their accounts were shared in the 2019 HBO documentary, "Leaving Neverland."
Both sued MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., of which Jackson was the sole owner and lone shareholder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The lawsuits were dismissed in 2021 when Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young ruled that the two corporations and their employees had no legal duty to protect Robson and Safechuck from Jackson. In a tentative decision last month, however, California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled the cases should go back to trial.
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Michael Jackson performs in concert circa 1986. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
Jackson died in Los Angeles, California, in June 2009. He was 50 years old.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Attorneys representing the Jackson estate will try to convince the appeals court Wednesday to again dismiss the cases.
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The lawsuits were already revived before they were dropped in 2021 as they bounced back from a 2017 dismissal, when Young threw the cases out for being beyond the statute of limitations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The California legislature passed a law that temporarily broadened the scope of sexual abuse cases, resulting in the appeals court restoring them.
Pop star Michael Jackson speaks with photographers during a break in his testimony December 3, 2002, in Santa Maria, California. (Jim Ruymen - Pool/Getty Images)
Robson, now a 40-year-old choreographer, met Jackson when he was 5 years old and alleges in his lawsuit that Jackson sexually abused him over a seven-year period.
Robson later appeared in Jackson’s music videos and said he was Jackson’s employee, subsequently arguing the two corporations had a duty to protect him the same way the Boy Scouts or a school would need to protect children from their leaders.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Singer Michael Jackson enjoys a cup of tea with his pet Bubbles at Osaka City Mayoral Hall on September 18, 1987, in Osaka, Japan. (Sankei Archive via Getty Images)
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Safechuck, now 45, said in his suit that he met Jackson at 9 years old while filming a Pepsi commercial. He claimed to have been the victim of a series of incidents of sexual abuse by Jackson, who he also said called him often and lavished him with gifts.
The Jackson estate has denied any abuse of either of the boys and has emphasized Robson’s own testimony at Jackson's 2005 criminal trial that he had not been abused. Safechuck said the same to authorities at the time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.